


heavensent

by inkwellhell (georgewashingmachine)



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Angels, Angel Hierarchy, Angel!Au, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Dialogue Heavy, F/F, F/M, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Possessive Behavior, Running Away, SQUIPEMY IS VERY ABUSIVE I DO NOT SHIP IT ITS JUST FOR PLOT, Texas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-05 01:29:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15159428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgewashingmachine/pseuds/inkwellhell
Summary: the story of four angels and how mountain dew kills a godinspired by this art piece by @failmacaw on tumblrhttp://failmacaw.tumblr.com/post/68936265178/the-nine-choirs-of-heaven-an-info-graphic-for-my





	1. ACT ONE - divine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> young archangel jeremiah heere is sent by his manipulative, abusive, seraphim guardian to protect a certain boy by the name of michael mell.

_“_ Jeremiah _.”_  

The young archangel looked up in alarm at the sudden voice, relaxing slightly upon seeing its owner.  He was known by many names, though most angels simply referred to him as the Guardian.

“Yes, sir?” Jeremy stood to attention: back arched, shoulders squared, wings furled carefully outwards. 

The Guardian looked Jeremy up and down, and smiled slightly, to which Jeremy’s expression lightened. “Thank you, Jeremiah. Your appearance is commendable.” Jeremy, again, brightened at the compliment. “Meet me at my throne. I have things I wish to discuss with you, dear.” With that, the Guardian vanished in a swirl of smoke.

Jeremy didn’t mind how the Guardian only ever addressed him as Jeremiah and not simply Jeremy, or how he affectionately called him things like _darling_ or _dear_. He was aware their relationship was _more_ , though they couldn’t interact much since the Squip (he’d insisted that Jeremy call him that rather than Guardian) was always very busy. Jeremy didn’t mind him being so busy, but after a while it did get irritating, since in human years he was about sixteen or so and teenage boys were needy and attention-craving. Or maybe just angelic teenage boys. He wouldn’t know – he’d never visited Earth before.

And, _gosh_ , he wanted to visit Earth so badly. Chloe got to do it, Rich used to do it, hell, even Christine! But they were all much older, much more experienced than he was. He was still young, just at archangel level. Sometimes he truly felt he was being left behind, like he was _wrong_ for some reason. Sometimes in social situations, he’d get all shaky and a bit sweaty and nervous for no reason. Sometimes it was so bad it would impact his performance on missions. He’d later learned that what he was experiencing was called _anxiety_ , via the Squip. And since that talk about how his performance had been lacking lately, his relationship with the Squip had become more intimate – different from how the Squip interacted with any of the other angels. And Jeremy had to admit, he quite liked their relationship. The Squip was always so nice and understanding, and he felt his anxiety really was improving.

Jeremy shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. He lifted into the air with a few flaps of his wings, and took off into the main hall.

The main hall was more like a main tower, actually. That was the whole building, in fact: A series of towers, the central one being the largest, with branches off to other various levels and other sub-towers. At the very bottom of the main tower were the lowest-ranking angels, rankings growing as you go up, the Squip’s rooms being at the very top.

And so, Jeremy flew up. He’d done this so many times, but still all the higher-ranked angels never failed to intimidate him. They all seemed so much more powerful, compared to him, and they were. He almost felt like they were invading their territory. Alongside the others, he, the small anxiety-ridden archangel, felt as if he could be crushed in one swift move. They were all majestic, lavish gold accessories adorning every inch they could, white fabrics swishing about their bodies, wings strong and dusted in gleaming metallic colors. And he was simply plain.

Once he’d gone past all the stares of the other angels, he arrived at the Squip’s throne room. The doors swung open easily, silently. The next thing he saw was the Squip, sitting unmoving atop an overly lavish throne, as if he had to prove his position of power through stupidly elaborate decorations. Hell, it worked. Something about the whole sight, the way the Squip was staring at him, waiting for him, made him anxious. 

“Jeremiah, darling,” he heard the Squip call, “Come in.” 

At the command, Jeremy takes a few steps forward into the room, feeling the doors close behind him. He falls to his knees, bowing, before straightening up and awaiting orders.

“Do you know why I called you here, Jeremiah?”

“No, sir.”

 “Ah, oblivious as ever,” The Squip responds, lips curled upwards ever so slightly. Jeremy looks a little hurt at the comment. “Well, I’ve…decided that your performance has improved enough to grant you with the opportunity to go up in ranking.”

Jeremy’s eyes light up.

_Holy shit._

A chance to finally rise in rank? Become one of the Principalities, be with Christine?

“I-I’ll do anything you ask, sir!” He says immediately, the Squip chuckling softly at his enthusiasm.

“Now, your assignment.” The Squip snaps his fingers, a scroll-looking hologram appearing beside him. An image of a teenage boy, seemingly around Jeremy’s human age, pops up, along with some information about him. “I need you to…” He pauses, as if thinking for the right word to say. “…protect this boy by the name of Michael Mell. Should you succeed, you will be allowed to go up to rank seven.”

“Protect him from what?”

The Squip fixes him with a look. Actually, many looks. The Squip’s divine form was a pitch-black human-looking figure. It had two sets of huge ass wings, larger than the other ranks’ wings, and had eyes covering its body, hence the many looks. Two blank, completely white eyes replaced where his human-form eyes were, and just above them was a single gold eye. Being the highest-ranking angel, he was _basically_ a god, so he could control what parts of him were human and what parts were, well…god, which meant Jeremy was staring at a human-looking Squip with empty gold and white eyes all over him, staring at Jeremy unnervingly.

_“Jeremy.”_

Jeremy froze. The Squip had _never_ called him anything other than Jeremiah before.

“Do not question me. _Ever_. You are aware of how powerful I am, are you not?”

Jeremy, too afraid to speak, said nothing.

“And you do know I won’t hesitate to banish you, like I did with Rich?”

Jeremy frowns, confused. “But Rich wasn’t banished. He – He left on his own. He, he’s unaligned, he didn’t…didn’t, uh, he—”

“You can’t just leave if you feel like leaving. I have to voluntarily let you go.”

“So, you let him go?”

“It was…” the Squip pauses, again searching for the right word, “frustrating, at times, but eventually, yes, I let him go.”

Jeremy’s gaze falls to the floor, trying to imagine a scene with Rich and the Squip yelling at each other or something like that. Rich was always on the angrier, more aggressive side.

The Squip changes the subject, telling Jeremy of his mission location – New Jersey.

“Oh, come on!”

“Is that a complaint?”

Jeremy’s eyes widen quickly, and rushes to fix what he said. “No, no, no, I – I just…everyone goes to New Jersey!"

The Squip sighs. “Jeremiah, we have two angels stationed in Jersey currently. Chloe Valentine is there on her own accord, and Christine Canigula is stationed in the same area you’ll be in. I have thousands of angels all over. Not everyone goes to New Jersey, I assure you.”

Jeremy nods, then when he’s dismissed, bows, flies off, and prepares for the most important mission he’s had in a while.

 

 

 

 

Jeremy figured this guy wouldn’t be too hard to find. Signature red hoodie, headphones, patches – easy to spot out of the normal high school crowd. He still wasn’t quite sure what exactly protecting meant, but he would try to protect him anyway. The last time Jeremy had asked about it, he’d gotten backlash from the Squip, so trying again didn’t seem like the smartest idea.

Unfortunately for Jeremy, he soon discovered that school was out for the day, which meant he would have to search for his mission objective elsewhere. The information he had on the guy said he normally hung out at either the local 7/11, or his basement, so he decided on heading to the corner store first. Thankfully, the shop’s windows revealed the red hoodie Jeremy was looking for, and the angel jumped up and down excitedly before he stopped to think:

Okay, great, found him, now what?

Jeremy spent what seemed like forever trying to find some way go and greet the boy in a way that wouldn’t startle him too much. I mean, it was kind of hard to say _Hey, I’m basically your guardian angel now!_ without any sort of negative reaction. But a little voice in his head reminded him that _gosh, you’re supposed to be working on this! Just go up to him, what’s the worst that could happen?_ and thus he waited for Michael to walk out, hyping himself up so he’d be ready.

He wasn’t ready.

As soon as Michael walked out, he panicked and just started talking, but his voice was three octaves too high and was cracking like hell and he was talking too fast and Michael started screaming and _oh gosh what the hell did you do?_ He could see the image now: the Squip yelling at him as soon as he got back, because he was fucking terrible at this and he screwed up everything he did and he would never make it past archangel and _fuck, shut up brain!_

By the time Jeremy got a grip and shut up, Michael was still screaming his fucking head off, so he tried to calm him down and launched into an explanation as they walked to Michael’s house. Michael was still a freaked out, yeah, but at least he wasn’t screaming anymore, so that was a plus. Once they were settled in Michael’s basement, Jeremy had finished explaining everything, so he waited anxiously for Michael’s reaction.

“Okay, let me get this straight – I’m not high?”

“Uh, no. At least, I don’t think so?”

“One second. I think I gotta be high to…process all the shit you said." 

Jeremy watched with an innocent sense of curiosity as Michael grabbed his stash of weed and lit himself a blunt, slowly inhaling the smoke as the drugs took effect on him. You could see the gears turning in his head as his now-relaxed brain tried to understand Jeremy’s words.

“So, you’re an angel?”

Jeremy nods. 

“And you were sent here to protect me?”

“Yeah. Except I don’t really know what I’m protecting you from.”

“Awesome.”

“What?”

“Sarcasm.”

“Oh.”

There was a beat of silence before Michael spoke up.

“You don’t _look_ like an angel.”

“I – uh, I don’t know if I can…show you my angel form? I already kind of screwed up my introduction…” Jeremy murmurs, gaze drifting down to the beanbag he was sat on.

“Oh, come on, that’s _boring_.” Michael whined, burying his head in his own beanbag. “Break the rules. I wanna see what you look like, all fuckin’…angel-y.”

“Very eloquent,” Jeremy stifles a small laugh. “But, uh, yeah, I don’t want to break any rules. Not now. This is important.”

“I don’t see why protecting me” – Michael gestures to himself – “is so important. Like, I don’t need protecting.”

Jeremy sighs, now looking up at the ceiling. “Neither do I. But I don’t want to be stuck as an archangel forever, you know?”

There’s another beat of silence. Michael breaks it by throwing his blunt at Jeremy.

“What was that for?” He asks Michael, picking up the burning herb bundle carefully.  
  
“You have an important task and you’re clueless. You don’t know when I’ll need protecting, or why, so you might as well make use of your time until then. Bond with me, angel boy. 

“And your idea of bonding is smoking…?”

“Just shut up and smoke the damn blunt." 

Hesitantly, Jeremy brings it to his lips. He starts coughing like hell as soon as the smoke enters his lungs.

“What the fuck, Mell?” Jeremy asks between fits of coughs. 

“Shit. Forgot you were a virgin. And also not human. Do you think angels can smoke?” 

“Gosh, shut up.” 

Michael snorts. “Gosh? Really?”

Jeremy shoves him playfully. “I can’t exactly say god, dumbass. I’m an angel, remember?”

“Right, right. I’ll still tease you about it until the end of time, though.” 

Jeremy sighs. “Of course you will.”

 

 

 

 

Jeremy was surprised at how easily he and Michael clicked. Even the day they met, it was like they had known each other for years rather than hours. After a while, Jeremy even considered Michael his friend. He still wondered what he was supposed to do to actually complete the mission, but he didn’t mind having time to spend with Michael. They’d seen each other through good days and bad, they shared blunts and inside jokes, and Jeremy almost felt _human_ around him. Hell, Jeremy nearly forgot he was an angel. He never heard from the Squip or any of his friends, and it was almost as if his mission didn’t exist. But it did, and he _knew_ that, and as the days went on Jeremy grew more and more anxious about it. So, Jeremy caved and decided to ask the Squip.

It was the middle of the night – Jeremy wasn’t sure of the hour – and Michael was fast asleep. He stood in Michael’s basement, in his angel form for the first time in a while: simple white robes accented with a gold band around his waist as well as gold bracelets and necklaces, wings emerging from his back. It felt foreign, being in this form in such a place where he felt nothing but human. 

He dug a small gold coin from his pockets and tossed it into the air. After a few flips, it stopped mid-air, and a holographic image of the Squip arose from it.

“Jeremiah?”

Jeremy bowed, blinking in surprise at the name. It had been a long time since he’d been called by Jeremiah and not Jeremy. It was unnerving, almost.

“How long has it been?” Jeremy asks first. If he’s procrastinating asking about the whole protecting Michael thing or not, he doesn’t know. 

“Roughly two months.” The Squip answers easily, looking Jeremy up and down. Jeremy can feel the Squip’s gaze, even if he’s only a hologram.

“ _Two months_?!”

“Relax. Most missions are much longer than this, you know."

Jeremy took a breath. “Right.”

“Why did you contact me?”

Jeremy stares for a moment, then bites his lip and looks away from the hologram just to return his gaze moments later, because he knew the Squip didn’t like it when he avoided eye contact. He said it was most likely caused from his anxiety. “I, um, well, I’m…kind of at a loss of what to do. I – before I even started my mission, I didn’t know what I was protecting Michael from, and now it’s been two months and – I-I still don’t know! I just—" 

“We can talk about this in person.”

Jeremy blinked, confused. “In person?”

“Yes, in person. I want you here by tomorrow…say, noon?”

“Wait, what? You want me to leave?”

“It’ll only be a couple hours. We’ll discuss your objective, and we’ll have some time to spend together because I know you miss me. After that, you’re free to go back to Michael, complete your mission.”

 _Shit_ , Jeremy thought, _he’s right_. He _did_ miss the Squip. Sure, he enjoyed being with Michael, but the Squip…the Squip was special. He couldn’t get that kind of relationship with anyone else.

“Okay,” Jeremy manages a smile before bowing and grabbing the coin from the air, breaking their connection and watching as the image of the Squip fizzled out.

 

 

 

 

Jeremy didn’t get much sleep. He kept trying to tell himself that _it’s only a few hours, why are you panicking, really, it’s not that bad, I’m sure Michael will understand, and you’ll be able to see the Squip, stop panicking, stop panicking, stop panicking…_

He didn’t stop panicking.

He woke up, dazed, still in his angel form, on Michael’s bed and lying beside the boy himself. He sat up slowly, trying to register his surroundings. He looked over at Michael, and realized for the first time just how close they were. The bed really was only fit for one person, but they’d never had a problem with the proximity before. Now, though, Jeremy felt a knot forming in his stomach and his face growing hot from their nearness. He brushed it off, blaming his reaction on anxiety, and carefully climbed out of bed before the feeling worsened.

He sat on the floor, cross-legged, waiting for Michael to wake up and trying to not think about everything that was making him anxious, but his brain insisted on thinking about all those things which just made it feel worse and _gosh he was just stuck in an endless cycle of anxiety._

Relief washed over him once Michael sat up and gave him a sleepy smile. “Morning, angel boy – whoa, holy shit.”  
  
“Good morni—Wait, what did I do?”

“See,  _now_ you look like an angel!”

Jeremy’s eyes widened as the realization washed over him. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh _shit_!” He yells as he changes back into his human form, which was admittedly a little strange since he was basically just a disembodied light with a vaguely human figure.

“Aw, really?”  
  
“Sorry. Um, actually, I wanted to talk to you about something?”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Okay, um, so, uh…I have to, uh…leave?”

“What?” 

“No, no, no, don’t worry, it – it’s only – I, uh, it – it won’t be that, uh, it won’t be that long, I just, I need to talk about some things and stuff, and – and – don’t worry, I’ll be back, I promise, I swear, I’ll be back, I’ll come back, please don’t – don’t be mad at me, I – I know you’ll, er, I hope you understand, I, um, I’ll be back, I just need to leave for a while, please, uh, don’t – don’t be mad at me!” Jeremy gasps, trying to catch his breath after talking so fast.

Michael laughs – _laughs_. “Dude, calm down. It’s fine.”

“I’m sorry, I – Wait, really?”

“Yeah. I’m fine with you leaving, just as long as you come back. You’re like, the best thing in my life right now.”

Jeremy grinned, hell, blushed, even, like a _freaking dork_. Then he envelops Michael in a tight hug, who laughs again in response.

“Jeez, you’re acting like you’ll never see me again. What’s up?”

“I don’t know. It’s just to talk and stuff. I’m, like, nervous for no reason.” Jeremy admits, arms still wrapped around Michael. “I’ve been freaking out all night.”

“You could have told me, you big angel dummy.”

“I’m telling you now,”

“I meant like, earlier."

“Oh.” 

Silence. Jeremy’s the one to break it, surprisingly.

“Well, it’s not like you could have done anything about it, anyway.”  
  
Michael thinks for a moment. “Weed might’ve relaxed you a bit. I know how bad you get when you’re anxious.”

“It’s weird doing it alone, though. Also, I…didn’t think of that.”

“Of course you didn’t.”  
  
“Hey!”

“See, I was spot on. You _are_ a big angel dummy.” Michael jokes, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

Jeremy frowns, making a show out of pouting and turning away like a child who’d gotten a toy taken away. “You huwt my feewings!”

They both burst out laughing. Jeremy feels a pang of hurt, wanting to stay and talk to Michael forever instead of leaving him, but he knew he had to leave. Jeez, he _was_ acting like he _was_ leaving Michael forever. _What the fuck is wrong with you?_

“Okay, uh, I should probably—”

“Yeah…”

They’re both at a loss for what to say next.

“Okay, um…bye.” Jeremy manages, giving Michael another hug before pulling away, saying a final good-bye, heading outside, and taking off into the clear morning sky.

 

 

 

 

Twelve PM.

Right on time.

Jeremy fluttered down in front of the double doors that led to the Squip’s room. The doors swung open, as if on cue. Jeremy was met with the Squip’s stare, ominously boring into him. Slowly, Jeremy stepped into the room and bowed. 

“Perfect timing. Now, first…I saw your introduction to Michael.”

Jeremy winced. _Oh, fuck_. He _knew_ he’d done badly, but the Squip telling him that was way worse than just knowing it yourself.

“What the hell was that?”

“I – I’m sorry, I just – I’m sorry, I panicked!”

The Squip sighs. “It doesn’t matter – we’ll work on it. We can discuss later. Now, for what I wanted to tell you…”

Jeremy bites his lip, preparing himself for the worst.

“Your mission isn’t exactly to protect Michael." 

Jeremy blinked, taken aback by the words. “What?”

“I needed you to befriend him, but I knew you would never do it had I told you your true mission beforehand.”

Jeremy stares at the god in front of him, hurt hitting him like a bullet. “So, you lied to me?”

“Well,  _lying_ is a harsh way to put it. I simply…hid the truth from you.” The Squip smiles, like what he said was amusing.

“That’s lying.”

“I was going to have to tell you eventually.” The Squip retorts, smile replaced with a frown. 

When Jeremy is silent, he continues.

“You need to leave Michael. Forever.”

“I need to _WHAT_?”

“You heard me.”

Jeremy is beyond stunned, beyond dumbfounded. He stands there, staring blankly, not quite believing what he’s hearing. Finally, he manages to compose himself enough to fix the Squip with a glare.

“Why?”

The Squip looks offended by the question. “I’m sorry?”

“I said _why?"_  

“Why?”

“Yes, why?”

“Why what?”

Jeremy’s shoulders drop, mouth hanging open in astonishment. Was the Squip seriously playing dumb?

“Why are you…ruining my life? Ruining _Michael_ ’s life? Oh, gosh, do you know what leaving would do to him? I’m the best thing in his life right now – he said so!”

The Squip just glares right back. “I’m not ruining your life, I’m trying to fix it. You need to prove you can make a bond with someone and then leave them, so you’re prepared for future missions. And obviously, you can’t.”

“And what about Michael?”

“I don’t care about Michael, you _idiot_. He’s just a piece of the plan. I assumed that afterwards you would simply forget about him, but clearly you care about him more than expected.”

Jeremy’s heart shatters – he couldn’t believe the Squip would do something like this. “So you’re using him?”

“He’s just a human, he doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.”

Jeremy doesn’t know how to react. “We’re angels, we’re supposed to be the guardians of humans! Watch over them and all that!”

“He’s helping you. All you need to do is stay here, no effort required. It’s the easiest mission you’ll ever have to do.”

Did he not care about how Jeremy felt? Did he do this to everyone? How many humans had suffered because of him?

Finally, the Squip sighs, seeing how unsatisfied Jeremy seemed with his task. “Fine, if you care about him so much, I can arrange you to meet again. I just need you to do this, okay? That’s all I ask.”

Jeremy hesitates – the offer actually doesn’t seem that bad. Michael gets to see him again, and he gets to finish his mission and make progress towards climbing the ladder of the angel hierarchy. In the moment, his mind skims over any anxious over-analyzation he could have done and doesn’t see any flaws in the proposition. He agrees, shaking the Squip’s hand, and returns to his room, eager to see Michael once again soon.

 

 

 

 

Now that he was seeing the outcome of the Squip’s plan, he regretted agreeing to it. With so much free time, Jeremy was quickly realizing all the holes in the Squip’s offer. He’d never mentioned when he was supposed to see Michael again, just that it would happen, and Jeremy hadn’t considered Michael’s side of the bargain. With no set time, he could be waiting weeks, even months to see the angel again. He probably thought Jeremy was never going to come back.

 After maybe a week of pure anxiety, Jeremy caves and tells the Squip of his worries. As expected, he simply brushes it off, claiming that the meeting would happen soon (whatever his idea of _soon_ was) and that Jeremy’s anxiety was making him overthink things. While the last part was true, his points were still valid. Jeremy left still with no timeframe and a still-fractured heart.

Week two rolled around, and Jeremy’s anxiety still hadn’t let up. Not wanting to bother him by complaining too much, he doesn’t confront the Squip about it. He’d already failed once, and trying again could have worse results, so he kept his mouth shut and suffered in silence. Week three and four follow similarly, and soon a month has passed with still no progress towards his mission. This time, Jeremy decides, he’s going to ask the Squip, and he was going to come back with answers if it killed him.

 

 

 

 

As soon as the doors open, Jeremy’s confidence fades. The Squip is the first to speak, seeing the angel at the door.

“Jeremiah! I wanted to talk to you, actually. Come in.”

Jeremy obeys the beckoning hand. The doors close behind him.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you–”

“When am I going to see Michael again?” Jeremy interrupts. He regrets his decision soon after.

“Don’t interrupt me.” The Squip orders, sending an electric shock down Jeremy’s spine.

“Ow—did you just shock me?”

“Shut up and let me talk, or I’ll do it again!”

Jeremy does as he’s told.

“As I was saying, I’ve been meaning to tell you that your mission is over.” The Squip looks to see Jeremy’s reaction. He doesn’t look as pleased as he’d hoped. “What’s wrong?”  
  
“Didn’t you hear my question?”  
  
The Squip sighs, impatient. “You will see Michael in due time, I promise—”

“And when is that?” Jeremy nearly yells. “It’s been a month, and I’ve heard nothing! You’ve given me absolutely no information, how am I supposed to believe you’re even going to go through with it?”

The Squip’s eyes widen. Obviously, he hadn’t been expecting that kind of response.

“Have I ever let you down, Jeremy?”

He hesitates to answer. “No.”

“Right. I’m helping you. And everything we’ve done has been to help you. Am I wrong?"

“No.”

“Besides,” The Squip smirks, “You can’t leave even if you wanted to. You’re too dependent on me.” He stands up from his throne, walking up to the angel, the sly look on his face growing as he does. The Squip cups Jeremy’s face, and the angel feels his stomach twist into a knot. “Without me, you’re nothing. You’d be an anxiety-ridden archangel for the rest of your life. And you wouldn’t want that, now would you?”

Jeremy doesn’t answer. The Squip moves his hand, now holding his chin.

“Would you?" 

“No.”

The Squip smiles, pleased with himself.  “Good. Now, I know you want to see what Michael’s been up to…”

Jeremy’s eyes light up as the Squip summons a holographic screen beside him. His expression fades into a hurt one as he watches the screen, a slideshow of scenes from the past month that depicted how Michael had reacted to the whole situation. One scene in particular hits a nerve – Michael having a breakdown in the bathroom at a party he and Jeremy were supposed to have attended together. Jeremy feels numb by the time the hologram cuts to static.

“We can discuss your new hierarchy position and such later, I’m sure you’re…upset, after watching the hologram.”

With that, Jeremy turns to leave, but before he steps out of the room, he has to ask. “And Michael?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll arrange it.”

And with that, the angel leaves, mission complete and no longer stuck at the bottom level, though heart still aching to see his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably going to be the longest chapter besides the last one, since the other two are going to be character-centric (rich/jake, chloe/brooke) and the last one is gonna be a bunch of plot
> 
> also i apologize if this takes a while to update
> 
> and btw
> 
> angels:  
> jeremy  
> rich  
> chloe  
> christine
> 
> humans:  
> michael  
> jake  
> brooke  
> jenna


	2. ACT TWO - holy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> rich goranski, former angel now unaligned, searches desperately for some kind of answers to his problems. he wasn’t expecting jake dillinger to be said answers.

Rich woke up in the middle of the desert. 

Granted, not the best place to crash land.

He sits up, taking in his surroundings: mostly sand, partially desert-y plants.

Okay, so he was in the middle of absolutely fucking nowhere. Great. Not that it mattered much to him, anyway – he wasn’t even human.   
  
Now, his next order of business: find somewhere that made him feel holy.

 

 

It wasn’t that hard, surprisingly. 

Not far from his crash site, Rich discovers an old, abandoned church – perfect angel territory. The sign next to the building was old and worn, but he could make out _TEXAS_ in large text across the front. Well, at least he had an idea of where he was now.

Slowly, he opens the door. It creaks as it swings on rusted hinges, just barely holding up. The noise startles someone inside, who jerks their head to see who the intruder was.

Rich stares back, his eyes meeting the gaze of a tall teenage boy.

The tall teenage boy opens his mouth, then screams. Rich screams back. There’s about a solid minute of screaming before they both shut up and stare at each other. Rich is the first to speak.

“What are you doing here?”  
  
The boy straightens up, looking the angel up and down.

“Could ask you the same question.”

Well…he had a point.

“You go first.”

The boy looks surprised, then laughs. “Fine, fuck you.”

Rich grins back – he got a feeling he was going to like this kid. 

The two take a seat in a pew as Rich awaits the boy’s answer.

“I ran away from home.” 

Rich tilts his head, looking up at the boy. Okay, not what he expected.   
  
“Do you live here? In, uh, Texas?” He asks. The boy laughs again.

“No way. I’m from New Jersey.”

“And you ran away to _Texas_?” 

The boy shrugs, strangely casual. “It’s not that hard to follow a couple of Interstate highways.”  
  
“You can drive?”  
  
“No.”

God, this kid was crazy. Rich loved him already.

“So, what’s your name?” The shorter asks, raising an eyebrow at the other.

“Jake. Jake Dillinger. You?”

“Rich Goranski.” Rich had seen the kid around school before, actually, when he was doing missions there. Involved in a lot of clubs, archery and drama and weird shit like that, according to Chloe – they’d dated a while back. Known for hosting parties. Pretty popular. Rich couldn’t see why he would want to run away – he had left before that happened.

“Why’d you…run away?” He asked, hoping it wasn’t too sore of a subject.

“Well, um…” He laughs. There’s a hint of nervousness behind it. “My parents…laundered money and went on the run. Don’t worry, I’m not a criminal or anything. I was living by myself, hosting parties and being popular and shit. But, like, there was always this…pressure to be perfect all the time, you know? And I just…couldn’t take it.”

Jesus. Some story.

“Anyway!” Jake smiles, breaking his dazed look. “What about you, Goranski? What brings you to the holy Texas desert?”

Shit. He didn’t have any fake sob story to tell, and he doubted he could make something believable up on the fly. Well, he just had to hope angels didn’t freak the kid out too much.

“Um…well, I’m kind of an angel?”  
  
Jake nods, and looks at him expectantly, waiting for the other to go on.

Rich nearly laughs. “You’re not…freaked out by that?”

Jake shrugs again. “Nah, not really. Kinda cool, actually. Better than having money-laundering parents.”

This kid was surprising him more and more.

“Basically, I was kicked out of –  let’s call it heaven, for lack of better word – and now I’m…trying to find something else to do with my life, I guess.”

 Jake is silent for a moment, thinking. “Why don’t you hang with me?”

Well, he had nothing better to do, so why the hell not? He had a feeling this kid needed his help, anyway. He had to be only, what, sixteen? Seventeen? He didn’t deserve to live in the middle of Texas all by himself.

And so, the two set off. Jake said this had been the only building he’d seen for miles, so Rich suggested they find the nearest town to settle down in. They end up picking a random direction and heading off, hoping they would stumble across something soon enough, but it isn’t long before Jake collapses and Rich realizes that their current plan wasn’t going to work.

“Oh, fuck—Dude, when’s the last time you had water?”

Jake looks like he’s going to pass out. “Uh…a few days? Maybe more? I – I don’t know, it’s hard to keep track." 

This kid was way worse than he thought.

“Okay, fuck this, we’re getting you out of here.”

So, instead of just picking a direction at random and saying, “fuck it”, Rich shifts into his angel form and picks up Jake, detects where the nearest town is, and sets off in that direction much faster than a human. He’s going so fast that everything around him looks still – hell, he can’t even _see_ around him. Fifty miles per hour, a hundred, one fifty, two hundred – he can feel the number clocking in higher and higher. Three hundred, four, five. He looked down every now and then to ensure that Jake was okay with such high speeds and, more importantly, acceleration, to make sure he was still secure in his arms. Thankfully, he was, looking strangely peaceful. He looks up – just in time, too – and he slows to a stop an inch away from a wall.

Rich sets Jake down, and the two of them set off down the street. They find a diner a few blocks away, and after the two settle into a booth and Jake gets a water, Rich ensures anything they get is free. Persuasion isn’t his strong suit – he was more a warrior – but he didn’t know if Jake had enough money to pay for everything, and he didn’t want to take any chances. The kid seemed fucked up enough as it is.

Rich patiently waits for Jake to rehydrate, and afterwards doesn’t even mention how mentally unstable the boy appeared. He didn’t just want to jump into deep shit like that just yet. So, in the meantime, they bond, exploring various abandoned and deserted (ha) places of divinity and holiness, and throwing parties for themselves at the places they crashed in. In all honesty, it was the most fun Rich had ever had. But all good things must come to an end eventually – they actually needed to talk.

 

 

It’s dark, the sky betraying a dark indigo hue, decorated with twinkling stars across its surface, blinking back at the boys who lay on the desert floor, staring up at the midnight sky, moonlight illuminating their faces. It was a nice moment, actually – the perfect time to bring up what he wanted to bring up.

“Jake, are you okay?”  
  
He laughs almost immediately. There’s a hint of nervousness in the teenager’s voice – faint, but it’s there. “Of course I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be okay? You worry too much, Chr – Chl – Rich! Rich.”

“Chlrich?”  
  
“Shut up.”

Obviously, someone else had asked that question before. Multiple people, actually. And he’d lied to both of them.

“No, seriously.” Rich’s tone shifts, more solemn, now. “I mean, like, mentally. Emotionally.”

Jake goes silent. Rich looks over, and sees he looks like he’s trying to come up with another way to brush off the question.

“It’s okay, Jake. You can tell me.”

“It – It’s just so hard, y’know, to be so perfect all the time! And it really doesn’t help that your parents are fucking _criminals_ and left you _alone_ so now you live all by yourself and all I ever fucking do is think that maybe, if I drink enough crappy alcohol and dance to shitty, overplayed music with my friends, all my problems will go away, but I try, and I try, and they don’t, they never fucking do! And it’s so hard to just play it off, and act like nothing’s wrong at school, because if you make even one fucking mistake you’re not going to be comforted, no, you’re going to be the newest gossip around school in fifteen minutes flat. And suddenly nobody looks at you like you’re popular, no, they look at you and all they see are your mistakes, and—” Jake stops himself, realizing how much he’s revealed. He stops, turning away from Rich even if they’re not even making eye contact. 

“It’s alright, I get the idea.”  
  
There’s a beat of silence, and then a scoff.

“You want to help me, right? Then tell me, how the hell are you supposed to fix this?” 

Rich sighs before he answers. “I don’t know. I’m a warrior, a keeper of history, not a fucking therapist. I don’t have the first idea about helping others through emotional problems and shit. I – I mean, I have emotional problems myself, and…trying to comfort myself, I brush it off, say that it’s just a part of history, and you can’t change that, y’know? But it’s not, _I’m_ not, I’m not just some chunk of an era, I’m not something someone puts on display in a museum, I’m not something kids learn about in school. I’m a person, and however hard I fucking try, I can’t just wash away my problems that easily, and neither can you. What I’m saying, is…whatever you’re going through, whatever _we’re_ going through, we’re going to work it out together.”

There’s another beat of silence, followed by…laughter.

“Dude, that was deep.”

Rich smiles, glad that his message hadn’t received with a negative response. “What can I say, I’m an angel.” 

The two lay there, enjoying the moment together in silence. Yet still, there’s something Rich wants to ask.

“Have you ever thought about going back? Going…home?”

Jake goes silent – Rich can feel him freeze up. For a moment, he thinks he’s pushed too far, but the boy eventually opens his mouth to respond. 

“I’ve…I’ve thought about it, yes, but…” Jake laughs, short and bitter. “I _can’t_ go back. Never. It’s too late to turn back, now.”

Rich feels a pang of hurt, of sympathy. Jake’s words speak volumes, and the angel feels sorry for bringing up such a blatantly harsh subject. But that’s what he’s here for – guidance, protection, fighting battles others couldn’t fight themselves. He could tell almost immediately that the boy needed his help when they had met, and he wasn’t about to be selfish and abandon someone when they needed him most to help himself. His journey could wait – Jake needed help now. 

“Why do you say that?” Rich asks carefully, turning to face the other beside him. Jake looks almost afraid to go on, but he does.

“And let everyone see me as a pussy who ran away because he couldn’t deal with his problems, who just came crawling back when he realized running away fixes nothing? No way.”

He knew high school kids could be dicks, but this was _low._

“And what if they don’t?”

Jake finally makes eye contact, though he stares at Rich like he had three animal heads. “What?”

“What if they don’t think you’re a pussy?”

Jake looks…surprised, like he’d never considered that option. 

“Your friends are supposed to help you, y’know. Not everyone is a complete dick.”

The boy laughs again, like he doesn’t believe a word of what Rich was telling him.

“Who’s going to be my friend if I ran away, and had no intention of coming back? They probably all abandoned me.” He scoffs. “Honestly, I bet they’re _glad_ I ran away—”

Rich cuts him off. “Don’t talk like that.”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t think so negatively of yourself." 

“I think it’s a bit late for that.”

Rich sits up, looking Jake in the eye. “What if they’re concerned about you?”

He follows Rich’s example, sitting up to face him. The same surprise crosses his face, the new option completely mind-blowing. But still, he’s skeptical.

“Why would they—”

“You don’t think your girlfriend—”

“Ex.”

“—ex-girlfriend is wondering where you went? Your friends are questioning when you’re going to come back?”

Jake frowns. “But—”

“No, no buts, fuck you. Even if it’s shit, what reason is there not to go back? You’re not accomplishing much more out here.”

Well...he had a point.

“And what if I do all that for nothing? What if it’s just as shitty as I imagine?”

“Well, you’re not going to know that unless you find out, are you?”

This must have been where Jake realized that arguing was going to get him nowhere – either that or Rich had somehow convinced him to return to New Jersey – because he leans back and sighs, closing his eyes and muttering, “Fine, I’ll go back. But if it’s shit then you owe me _so_  bad.” 

Rich is  _really_ happy about his success, and he hugs Jake tightly, grinning from ear to ear. The other is startled for a moment, but eventually hugs back, and the two fall asleep under the cover of stars.

 

 

It’s only when they’re driving back to New Jersey (Rich drives, despite never driving before, since he can manipulate humans and can’t get the two of them arrested for driving without a license or some other illegal shit) does Rich realize that he’s actually content with what he has – that being Jake. He doesn’t feel the need to find somewhere holy that calls to him, to find some other higher being to serve. He could stay at the Powers level for his whole life and he wouldn’t care. He had Jake, and that made him feel as holy as working for a god ever could. It was so significant, in fact, that he felt the need to tell the boy so.

It’s around sunset, and they’re parked on the shoulder of some highway or parkway or whatever the fuck (as previously mentioned, Rich didn’t really know how driving worked) somewhere near the Texas-Arkansas border, settled down for the night so they both could rest. 

“Jake?” 

“What’s up?”

“This is going to sound dumb and cheesy as all hell, but…I’ve been trying to find somewhere to call home, but I think…I think I found home in _you_.”

There’s a beat of silence. For a moment, Rich regrets having confessed that, and is about to take it back when he hears Jake’s voice pipe up from where he’s sprawled out on the backseat. 

“Thanks, dude. That’s…really nice of you to say.”

 Rich smiles back at him, relieved to have received a positive response.

As night falls, Jake falls asleep, leaving Rich alone with his thoughts to ponder over the past few days, and what was yet to come. Since they had left Texas, Jake had been doing better. He seemed almost excited about returning home, and that warmed Rich’s heart, as cliché as that sounded. But he knew they still had a long way to go – recovery didn’t happen overnight, after all. Even so, Rich was happy to spend said recovery with him, every step of the way.

He looks back at the other, peacefully dreaming in the backseat. 

“I’m so glad I found you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a update! yay!
> 
> i'm definitely planning on the other two chapters to be longer. i've fleshed out the chloe & brooke chapter a lot more so hopefully it'll be better than this one lmao
> 
> anyway thats all I've gotta say for right now, so i hope you enjoyed. next chapter will be up soon enough!


	3. ACT THREE - celestial

Chloe Valentine had been through a lot of relationships in her lifetime. And she had lived a  _lot_ longer than the average human lifespan.

All of said relationships had one thing in common: they were all short-lived high school flings, the majority of which ended in heartbreak for the boy on the other end.

That’s really all Chloe did with the immense amount of free time she had: stir up drama and break boy’s hearts. She really had no use for a serious, long-term relationship, nor school – she already had all the knowledge the world had to offer. Every scientific breakthrough, historical event, and mathematical theory was at her fingertips, though she never really had any use for that, either. It was helpful on tests, at least, but other than that there really was no other way it could be utilized, except for, like, charming history buffs or calculus nerds. The most popular girl in school was both hot and incredibly smart. Also angelic, literally, but the mortals didn’t need to know that part.

The angel side of her life wasn’t all that exciting. She had climbed her way through the social hierarchy of Middle Borough High School, and she had done the same with the angel hierarchy. She was the most powerful angel there was, and since she wasn’t busy flying through the ranks, the Guardian basically let her do whatever the hell she wanted, as long as it didn’t put the universe in grave danger or anything like that. She was only ever needed when there was like, a world war or an apocalypse or some other event that put the world at risk of disappearing off the map forever and destroying all of humanity, and none of those things seemed to have a chance of happening anytime soon (except for, like, the nuclear missiles and whatnot, but the Guardian claimed he had that under control). As for her friends, well…Rich was now unaligned, Jeremy was still struggling to get past archangel level (which baffled Chloe – he’d been stuck there forever), and Christine was just getting by, doing what she had to so she could climb in ranking. Chloe hoped that she’d get up to Cherubim level soon – it was getting kind of boring, to be honest.

Fortunately, her life was about to have a major change.

The day had been going pretty normally so far. Chloe was loitering at her locker, hearing the latest gossip from a mortal who spread tea around faster than Hermes ever could: Jenna Rolan. The two were on good terms, actually – Jenna was working with Christine at the moment, basically becoming the news outlet for angels. Chloe wasn’t sure how Christine had managed that, or how she had avoided being caught by the Guardian, but at least the girl was helpful.

And then there was a tap on Chloe’s shoulder. She gestured to Jenna, telling her that she needed to take this, and then turned around, being met with a blonde girl who stared up at her like she was meeting her celebrity idol.

“Can I help you?”

“How do you do it?”

Okay, not what she was expecting. She didn’t exactly have fangirls coming up to her every day.

“Do…what?” Chloe asks, studying the girl with a judgmental eye as she awaited an answer.

The girl looked nervous under her gaze. “Be, like, so amazing.” 

She raises an eyebrow at her, though her lips betrayed a smile. “Gosh, I’m flattered, but I—”

 “Like, you don’t care about anyone else.” The girl’s praising speech continued, cutting Chloe’s masterful exit off. “You go around messing with people like it’s nobody’s business. How do you do it? I’m _so_ amazed!”

Well, isn’t she charming?

Chloe shrugs nonchalantly, giving a little laugh. “I don’t know. It’s just fun, I guess.” Which, really, was the truth.

“God, I could never do what you do.” The blonde gushes, leaning against a row of lockers.

 

A smile plays on the edge of Chloe’s lips, a plan forming in her head. If this girl looked up to her so much, perhaps she could take the girl under her wing, show her the ropes of popularity, humor her a bit. It would make her life a lot more interesting, and the girl got a chance at popularity. Win-win.

“You wanna know how it’s done, huh?” She asks, pleased when she saw how delighted the girl looked at her words, “Meet me at the Woodbridge Mall after school, at the Pinkberry, four-o-clock.” 

The girl nods excitedly, then runs off to class.

As Chloe returns to her locker, she recognizes the girl as Brooke Lohst. She’d seen the girl around before, maybe even in some classes (she skipped a lot, though, so she really didn’t know for certain). She really didn’t know much about her – she’d never heard the name from Jenna or her angel friends. She smiles to herself, though, despite knowing next to nothing about her new apprentice. This was going to be fun.

 

 

 

 

 

As promised, Brooke was waiting at the local Pinkberry at four, checking her phone every now and then as she scanned the crowd, searching for the familiar brown waves and Disney solar pop print jacket. At a quarter of, Brooke was afraid Chloe wouldn’t show, but then the girl sauntered up to her as if she was on time.

“Why are you late?” The blonde asks, looking almost afraid about her curiosity.

“I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t bail.” She replies casually, “And let me say…I am pleasantly surprised.” 

Brooke smiles warmly at that, heading up to the counter with a little bounce in her step. Chloe found it endearing, how happy the other was around her.

They order (Brooke gets Just Fruit Tropical Mango and Chloe gets Raspberry White Chocolate) and find a table, Brooke awaiting her popularity instructions as she ate her frozen yogurt.

“First order of business: you need a guy,” Chloe starts, taking the spoon out of her mouth with an audible pop, “Anyone catch your eye lately?”

Brooke looks down at the table, frowning slightly. “I mean, I don’t really know…”

Immediately, the angel can tell she’s lying. And not even by, like, angelically sensing it or anything – it was blatantly obvious the girl was embarrassed by whoever it is she had a crush on. “We’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t tell me who he is.”

“Fine! Fine, I’ll tell you.” She throws her hands up in defense. “It’s Jeremy. Y’know, that Headphones Kid’s best friend?”

Chloe takes a bite thoughtfully, waiting a few moments before she spoke up again. “Alright. Good choice, actually. He shouldn’t be too hard to win over. I don’t think he’s had a girl talk to him in, like, ten years.” Brooke laughs at that, thankfully – Chloe didn’t know what she would do if the remark went over the girl’s head. “Let’s finish up here, then we can go and find him.”

They talk as they finish their frozen yogurt, each girl learning a bit more about the other as they exchange questions. Soon enough, Chloe rises from her seat, and Brooke takes their cups to the trash while she texts Jenna to see if she knew what Michael and Jeremy were up to. Surprisingly, they’re also in the mall – Jenna claims Michael’s getting a bottle of Crystal Pepsi at the back of a Spencer’s Gifts, and knowing him he’s dragged Jeremy along as well. Chloe doesn’t know how the hell she found out about that, and jokes that it sounds more like he’s getting sketchy drugs than a discontinued soda. Really, either seemed possible, knowing the boy.

The two found Jeremy standing outside the Spencer’s, waiting for Michael. Chloe urges Brooke forward, informing her to talk to him – get him interested, but don’t make a move. She watches them awkwardly conversate from a distance, until Michael returns and looks absolutely shocked that his best friend is talking to a girl that was probably popular, considering she was worth _Chloe Valentine_ ’s time, and that was nice and all but Michael didn’t want to be a third wheel or be abandoned because Jeremy’s horny ass was easily smitten by hot girls, and he made that clear as he tugged on Jeremy’s sleeve, telling him they needed to go.

Brooke giggles and gives him a wink as he’s dragged away by Michael, returning to Chloe with a smile, confident that she’d done a good job. Chloe compliments her on her work, and launches into an explanation of phase two as they continue on their way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phase two, unfortunately, goes to shit, because apparently people at Middle Borough High School liked to randomly disappear without a trace. 

First Jake, and now Jeremy.

Chloe didn’t know when she’d hear from Rich again, either, since he was now unaligned, and contact between angels that weren’t working for the same god was pretty difficult. But of course, none of the humans knew that. 

Still – Jeremy wasn’t unaligned, so she figured she would hear _something_ from him. She asked Christine about it, but she said she had no idea where he’d gone either. Neither her nor Christine could just get up and go back to the Guardian – they were busy. Well, technically Chloe wasn’t exactly doing anything particularly useful, but she was in the middle of a mentoring session, so it would have to wait. 

Brooke was, understandably, upset about the whole thing. Chloe found it a little weird – to her, losing a boy was nothing. Human time was insignificant, really, when you’ve lived for thousands of years. Still, she consoled Brooke as best she could.

Brooke had been crying for a full fifteen minutes, now. Her and Chloe were in the girls bathroom, hoping that the walls were thick enough to keep Brooke’s cries out.

“Hey, it’s okay. We can always find another—”

Brooke bursts into another wave of sobs, burying her head further into the taller girl’s shoulder.

“Or, we could…talk to Michael?” Chloe really wasn’t sure if he’d know anything – after all, if the angels were clueless, why would a mere human know more than they did? Still, it was worth a shot, and it might help comfort Brooke. 

She nods, probably afraid that if she attempted to talk, they’d just trigger another swell of tears. 

And so, once Brooke calms down enough to properly function and to fix her makeup so she didn’t look like she’d been bawling for the past fifteen minutes, the duo went to the cafeteria and searched out a lone red-hoodie clad headphones-wearing kid. Once located, the two slid into seats across from him. He looks up from his untouched tray of food in surprise, obviously not expecting the most popular girl in school and her apprentice to come and talk to him.

“You here to ask about Jeremy?” Michael asks. He sounded exhausted, like he was sick of telling people the same thing over and over again – clearly, they weren’t the first ones to notice Jeremy was gone. Granted, his disappearance wasn’t as big as Jake’s had been, because Jake was popular and he wasn’t, but still – drama was drama, no matter your place in the social hierarchy.

Chloe takes the lead, speaking up first. “How’d you guess?”

“Jenna and some other kids were asking me a bunch of questions about him.” He laughs. “Figure you’d know that, since the same thing happened when Jake was reported missing. Everyone came to you for answers, since you’re close to him and all that.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. But after the mall, Brooke here wanted to talk to him more, and we kind of need him here for that.” She felt bad for him, almost – hearing how tired he sounded struck a chord with her. She remembered being hounded by crowds of students herself, everyone buzzing with questions about her ex’s whereabouts. It was shitty, and she nearly got into a fistfight because she’d been so fed up because _god fucking damn it, I don’t know what happened to him, can’t you just take no for answer already, you nosy fucks?_ She didn’t mean to get mad, because she knew how fast rumors could spread, but after over a week of nothing but her own personal paparazzi from hell, it was getting old. Nobody said anything against her, though – the student body knew damn well your life would just be ruined in return if you messed with Chloe Valentine.

Michael is silent for a moment, and for a second Chloe is afraid he’s going to tell them to fuck off or something, but eventually he gives in.

“Okay, I’ll tell you. The only thing he said to me was that he was leaving to talk to someone, and that he would be back soon. No idea who the fuck he was seeing, guess he wanted to keep it vague. But it’s been – what, a month? Two? And I haven’t heard from him since.” His expression turns angry. “He fucking left me, even though I _told_ him he was the best thing in my life. God, he makes me _sick_.”

Both Chloe and Brooke’s eyes widen at that – okay, things were really bad, apparently. Chloe suspected they were the first two to ever know about that last part. If Jenna saw her here talking to him and asked about it, she wouldn’t tell – she might be a bitch, but she didn’t go out of her way to ruin innocent people. Unless you were a dick to her, or she was bored and wanted another human to screw around with, you were fine.

Clearly Michael needed someone right now, so Chloe was going to give that to him. She and Brooke meet eyes, and they make a silent agreement to help him out, so they get their food and sit at Michael’s table. He’s surprised at their return, but doesn’t question it, and even looks kind of relieved when they strike up conversation.

Maybe Brooke wouldn’t get Jeremy, but there were still plenty of dumbass boys that would easily fall under a novice charm – the perfect learning experience. And, at least their attempts weren’t in vain – they had gained a friend out of it, someone who had needed them. Chloe thought the Guardian might be proud of that, since their whole purpose as angels was to help people out and shit. 

Basically, things were going pretty well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How long had it been since she’d first formally met Brooke? At this point, it felt like they’d been friends for all of high school, maybe even longer. It was a nice feeling – She liked Brooke, and helping her learn and watching her build confidence made her feel proud.

Still, it could be shit sometimes.

“I swear, sometimes you act like some almighty god. Like you’re just immune to emotional hurt.” 

Chloe had never told anybody she was an angel, so that comment was a little more than scary. “I’m just more experienced than you are. You’ll get used to it.” 

“And what if I don’t get used to it?”

Chloe simply stares at the other, with a strange mix of shock and realization.

“I’m only human. I get hurt too, you know.”

Shit. She was right. She _was_ only human. She wasn’t an angel like Chloe.

“I can’t just do whatever the hell I want without consequences.”

She didn’t live for thousands of years. 

“Heartbreak isn’t just one sided.”

Certain things actually mattered to her.

“Hey, are you listening to me?” 

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

Immediately, Brooke starts to backtrack.

“No, no, no, no, I—”

“No, shut up. You and I…have different standards. I can’t out both of us on the same pedestal and expect things to be okay. I screwed up. I was ignorant, and selfish, and—”

Brooke laughs – _laughs_. “I think that’s a little much.”

Chloe smiles, relieved that Brooke didn’t hate her guts. “Yeah, well, I don’t want any bad feeling left unchecked.”

There’s a beat of silence, before Brooke speaks up again. “While we’re on the subject of bad feelings and stuff…I want to admit that I was always so jealous of you.” 

Chloe looks surprised at that – Brooke had always idolized her, not envied her.

“I guess I just…hid all that underneath a fake innocent and happy persona. And that’s not who I am, you know? And I don’t think messing around with boys is who I am, either?”

“Then who are you?”

“I think I’m someone who’s confident. And who’s happy to rule the school alongside someone she loves.”

Someone she loves? Okay, that sounded wrong. “Uh, I think you have me mixed up with someone else.”

Brooke grins, shaking her head. “Nah, I think that someone is you.”

She’s so shocked she doesn’t even know what to say. “Are you telling me that you love me?”

Brooke pretends to think for a moment. “Yeah, I think I might be.”

“Like, romantically?” 

“Yeah.” 

She’s never had a real relationship before. Not one that both sides were completely, one-hundred percent devoted to, where there was actually love, _real_ love.

“I…I don’t know. I’m…not really used to serious, lasting relationships, y’know?”

Brooke, somehow, looks fine.

“Hey, that’s okay. We can work it out.” 

Chloe looks absolutely baffled. 

“Wh – really? Are you sure?”

Brooke laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure.” She leans in a bit, before stopping. “Are you okay with this?”

Chloe finally regains her confidence, smirking. “Yeah, I’m okay with this.” And with that, she closes the gap. 

Finally, something she was _good_ at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god i am the FUCKING WORST at slowburn. or even mediumburn. im fastburn 24/7
> 
> anyway have another update i like a little better than the last.
> 
> also yay! we hit 10k words!
> 
> next chapter maybe before august? that's my goal. no promises tho
> 
> but yeah. hope u enjoyed some pinkberry.


	4. ACT FOUR - sacred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jeremy is taken captive by the squip, and so christine sets out to save him with three mortals, two angels, and a metric fuck ton of mountain dew 

As soon as Chloe was finished with Brooke, she went to go find out what the hell had happened to Jeremy. She would have brought the others along, but Rich was off doing whatever the fuck unaligned angels did in their spare time and Christine was busy with doing tasks for the Guardian, so she would have to go alone.

As soon as she returned, she made a beeline for Jeremy’s room. Thankfully, he was in there, and Chloe’s too ecstatic in the moment to notice how upset he looks. “Jeremy! Where the hell have you been?” She exclaimed. Jeremy jumps, startled at the sudden voice, but relaxes when he realizes who it is.

“Chloe! Shit, I—Oh, gosh, none of you knew where I went, didn’t you?” He feels a pang of guilt at the realization – he’d only been thinking of Michael when he left. “I…I’ve just been up here. I had to leave to talk to the Squip, and then he…”

“Who’s the Squip?”

Oh shit. Motherfucking _shit_.

Jeremy’s eyes widen, and he looks absolutely terrified as he scrambles to fix his mistake, voice cracking as he spoke. “No, no, no, no, no, I-I meant Guardian! Guardian, not, um – what did I even say? Haha, shit memory, am I right? Squip? Who’s that? I-I’ve never heard of them, nope, never, never heard that name in my life.”

“You know I know that’s bullshit, right?” Chloe replies, looking more concerned than anything.

Jeremy doesn’t answer, gazing down at his feet, cursing himself for being an idiot. 

Chloe brings up a chair, sitting across from him. “So…you call the Guardian…the Squip?” She says, tone gentle.

He nods, eyes screwed shut. For a moment, Chloe thinks he’s crying. 

She sighs, thinking for a moment. This was weird, and Jeremy seemed _really_ upset about it. She’d never heard anyone call the Guardian the Squip, or anything close to that. He’s only ever been referred to as the Guardian and nothing else. So why the hell would Jeremy call him that?

“Why?” 

“I-I don’t know. He just kinda _insisted_.” 

Chloe studies Jeremy carefully. He’s obviously not telling her something, but seeing how distraught he was she was afraid to push.

“What did he want to talk about? And why are you still here?”

Jeremy almost looks afraid to answer. “Uh, well, he…uh…he’s kinda helping me? With – With, um, with, like, uh, the, um, the ranks and stuff?” He swears under his breath. “And I was, y’know, doing archangel stuff, helping Michael and all that, and he wanted me to leave him so I’m prepared for other missions or some shit. So I’ve just been here. Avoiding Michael. For the rest of my life.”

Oh, fuck. Michael hated Jeremy’s guts for something he wasn’t even in control of.

“Helping you?” 

“Yeah. And it’s weird because he can be…Well, he can be a dick sometimes. But he’s helping me, so I can’t really do anything about it.” He took a shaky breath, wiping away a tear. “Gosh, I’m pathetic.”

All of Chloe’s shitty relationship sirens went off at that, because that did _not_ sound healthy. In fact, it sounded manipulative. She wasn’t sure exactly what kind of relationship they had, but she knew that it was toxic. 

Gently, she put a hand on his shoulder. “Okay, one, you’re not pathetic. Promise. And two, that’s manipulative as hell.” She would have told him to leave, go back to Earth, but she figured that the Squip wouldn’t like that. She would also mention Michael, but she didn’t want to make the boy more upset than he already was.

“Manipulative?” Jeremy says slowly, as if his brain was just processing the word for the first time. Obviously, he’d never considered his and the Squip’s relationship to be manipulative in any way before. As Chloe watched his epiphany, the voice of the god in question echoed throughout the room.

_“Jeremiah Heere. Chloe Valentine. I request your presences immediately. If this order is not obeyed, there will be consequences.”_

So they both called each other different names, then. She’d never heard Jeremy be addressed as Jeremiah before. 

The two angels meet eyes, and they stand in unison. They had no other choice, unless they wanted to meet whatever consequences the god had planned for them – they had to go meet with the Squip. Jeremy looked especially apprehensive of following these orders (though Chloe figured he knew better than anyone what would happen should he disobey) after discovering how manipulative the Squip was. Chloe gives his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before taking off out the door to their date with the devil, feeling Jeremy trailing behind.

 

 

 

 

“I see that the secret has been let out.” 

The Squip stared daggers at Jeremy. Chloe stands beside him, watching the two talk, prepared to step in if things got rough. She wasn’t quite sure what rough would be, so she braced herself for the worst.

“I can’t have that, Jeremy. You should know that.” 

“How did you find out?” The boy sounded about as scared as he looked. He hated having dragged Chloe into this, but she knew she was a powerful angel, nearly rivaling the Squip’s power. Nearly. She could handle him. Probably.

The Squip laughs at the question. “Oh, Jeremy, I have eyes _everywhere_.” As he said that, the eyes that decorated his body in his godly form suddenly appear, which was _really_ unnerving when he still looked human. 

Jeremy returns the daggers. “I hate you.” 

The eyes disappear. The Squip smirks. “I know you do. I know you want more than anything to leave me.” Jeremy is lifted into the air, and Chloe looks alarmed, ready to pounce if Jeremy started choking or something. He didn’t, thankfully, simply flew towards the Squip so he could hold the angel’s face (rather roughly, though Chloe wasn’t aware of that). “But both of us – three, now, actually – know that that’s not possible. You’re too dependent on me. You _need_ me. You’d be _nothing_ without me. Isn’t that right?”

 Jeremy is silent.

“ _Isn’t that right, Jeremiah?_ ”

“Yes, sir.” He chokes out weakly. Chloe watches the interaction, horrified.

He smirks again, happy he’d finally gotten an answer. “I believe that it’s only fair that you’re treated properly for your actions.” Jeremy is shot back to his place beside Chloe, abruptly dropped to the floor from where he’d been suspended six feet in the air.

Suddenly, Jeremy feels something cold and metallic clamped around his wrists and ankles. He looks down, attempting to identify whatever it was, but as he does he’s pulled to the nearest wall by said bound limbs. It’s then that he realizes they’re chains. 

“What the _fuck_?!” He hears Chloe yell. She’s yelling at the Squip now, telling him that that is _so fucked, what the hell is wrong with you, you manipulative bitch?_ In the middle of her protest, she’s silenced. Clearly, she doesn’t like that, and shifts into her angel form, looking very ready to claw all of the Squip’s beady little eyes out. The Squip stops her attempts to fight him, putting a barrier between her and the throne, blocking off access to the other angel in the process.

Chloe, despite her best efforts, isn’t able to break the barrier. She yells out in frustration, knowing the Squip was much stronger than she was even if he was simply a level above her in ranking. By herself, the powerful angel knew she couldn’t beat the near-god, but still she attempted anyway. It only achieves in wearing herself out. The Squip seems to know this, because he doesn’t try and stop her, simply watching with a slightly amused expression. This just angered Chloe even more, seeing his stupid smug face that she wasn’t able to reach.

“I’ve had enough of this. Shut up.”

With a wave of his hand, Chloe shuts up and stops moving.

The Squip smiles. “There – that’s better. Now…”

Chloe rises in the air, gaining a bit of control over her body as she does. She doesn’t try and escape, just accepts that she can’t do anything. Jeremy’s heart breaks as he watches the two, wishing he could do something to help his friend.

They’re both utterly helpless. All they can do is watch.

“Chloe Valentine, as your ruler I hereby strip you of your abilities and banish you from this realm.”

“ _WHAT_?!” Both Chloe and Jeremy cry out, to which they both receive electric shocks. Despite this, Chloe persists in her objections.

“I didn’t even do anything! You _can’t_ banish me!” 

Jeremy thought that, too – he remembered the Squip saying he had to voluntarily let someone go. But, he thought with horror, he’d never mentioned anything about having consent from both parties.

Shit.

“Actually, I can.”

And with that, Chloe returns to her human form and falls through the floor.

Jeremy stares blankly at the spot she had been just moments before, as if he could bring her back somehow. 

She doesn’t return.

 

 

 

 

Jenna Rolan frantically taps on her phone, scrambling to find Christine Canigula’s contact.

“Chris! Christine! Pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up…”

Christine’s voice crackles to life on the line. “Hey, Jen – what’s up?”

“Jeremy’s going to die!” 

Back in New Jersey, Christine’s eyes go wide. “What? Okay, wait, back up. Start from the beginning. And tell me _everything_.”

 

 

 

 

After Jenna’s story, Christine makes a few more phone calls.

First, she calls Chloe. Thankfully, she’s awake, and picks up.

“I heard what happened.”

“Let me guess, Jenna?”

“Yup. I don’t know how she does it. Anyway, I need to meet you at the diner on Palisade ASAP. Can you bring Brooke with you?”

“Yeah, I can. See you there.”

Next was Rich. She didn’t know exactly where he was, but they could use all the help they could get.

“Rich, hey, it’s Christine.”  
  
“Yo, what’s up?”

“Where are you right now?”  
  
“New Jersey.”  
  
“Wait, what? Really? Why didn’t you—” 

“I’ll explain later.”  
  
“Okay, um…can you come to the diner on Palisade?”

“Be there in ten. I got Jake with me, if that’s okay.”

Jake – holy shit, Jake! Jake Dillinger! What the hell had Rich been up to? 

“Yeah, that’s perfect. See you.”

 That makes…one, two…three angels, including herself, and two humans. There was still someone she was missing.

 The phone rings once, twice. For a moment, Christine thinks he won’t pick up, even though she knew he was probably stoned off his ass and wide awake. 

“It’s like, one in the morning. What the hell do you want?”

 Oh, thank gosh.

“Diner. Palisade.”  
  
“Now?” 

“Yes, now. It’s urgent.”

“What could be so urgent that you need me in a diner at one AM?”

“It’s about Jeremy.” 

There’s a beat of silence. 

“I don’t care about Jeremy. I don’t want to hear some half-assed apology, okay? I—”

“He’s in trouble. Serious trouble.”

There’s no reply.

“Like, he could die trouble.”

Radio silence. For a moment, Christine thought he’d hung up. 

“Michael, please. I know you…I know you hate his guts, and that’s fine, but we’re seriously worried about him. At least help, even if you never want to see him again.”

There’s a solid minute of quiet. Christine’s finger hovers over the END CALL button, dangerously close to giving up.

“Fine, fuck you. I still hate him, though.” 

Christine pumps her fist in the air. She thanks him, then leaps into the air and heads to the diner, confident that together, they could save Jeremy Heere from a fate worse than death.

 

 

 

 

When she arrives, she finds Chloe, Brooke, Rich, and Jake already there. They call over to her, and she slides into the booth beside Brooke. They’re recounting the events of Rich’s little adventure with Jake when Michael walks in, taking a seat and acknowledging Jake like he hadn’t been MIA for months.

And now, the meeting of the SJHA (Save Jeremy Heere Alliance) began.

“As you may know, Jeremy Heere is in a lot of trouble. He’s trapped up in shackles with the Guardian, AKA the Squip, being abused and manipulated and hurt. Oh, also, if you didn’t know, Rich, Chloe, Jeremy, and I are angels.” 

Brooke absolutely flips her shit. 

“WAIT, WHAT THE F—”

They’re told by a waitress to quiet down. 

After explaining the situation to Brooke, Christine leads the conversation and asks the group, “So, how are we going to defeat the Squip?”

Everyone is silent for a moment, thinking. They all chime in at various intervals with stupid suggestions, ranging from a well-placed banana peel to a straight-up bullet to the head. Christine sighs, and reiterates to the group exactly what they’re dealing with. She explains how Chloe was the most powerful of the four of them, and even she got banished for trying to help Jeremy. Even then, the severity doesn’t seem to set in, so Chloe recounts her tale of the encounter, making sure to give them every shitty, violent detail. They soon realize they aren’t even close to having even a decent plan or means of attack. 

Their brainstorming session continues, though in a more serious tone.

Before long, the hours have ticked away, and it’s well into the night. The teens start to grow tired, as you do when you’re sleep deprived, and once the effect hits Michael, he pulls a bottle out from his hoodie pocket. It’s bright green, the label reading _Mountain Dew_ in a signature logo that half of the table doesn’t recognize.

Rich asks for a taste, like it’s cheap beer at a high schooler’s house party. As soon as he takes a swig, he doubles over as if in pain. 

“Holy shit, dude, that stuff is _crazy_.”

Five pairs of eyes lock on him in concern, then four of them turn to Michael accusingly.

“Uh…it’s not supposed to do that, as far as I know.” He says, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

As the rest of the table makes sure Rich is okay, Chloe has an epiphany and asks for the bottle. The others look at her, confused as to why she thought that was a good idea after seeing what had happened with Rich, but after a moment the bottle is slid over.

As predicted, Chloe holds her head and swears loudly, like she’s got a migraine. The others seem to catch on to her theory, and suddenly everyone’s watching Christine expectantly. 

“Oh, no, I’m not—” 

“DO IT, COWARD!” 

At the threatening tone, she grabs the bottle and takes a sip. She yelps in pain and promptly drops the drink. 

And so, the theory proved to be correct thus far. As another test, they have Jake and Brooke try it, and they appear fine afterwards.

Apparently, Mountain Dew fucks with angels. 

Like Chloe, Rich also has an epiphany. “Wait, if it hurts us…”

“It can hurt the Squip.” Jake finishes his thought. 

“Michael, how much of this stuff do you have?” Brooke asks, the others turning their heads as she did. 

“Uh, we can just buy some. There’s other kinds, too. I don’t know how much you’d need to kill a god, but…” 

“Other kinds?” Christine pipes up, “Do you think some will have a better effect?”

The group shares a look of hope before bolting out the door and to the nearest store.

 

 

 

 

The Save Jeremy Heere Alliance spends the next few hours in Michael’s basement after having bought as many different varieties of Mountain Dew as the area had (the flying thing had come in handy), with the angels trying all of them and the humans recording all the varying pain levels and keeping track of everything.

The clock had been nearing five AM when the others started falling asleep. By six, Rich and Brooke were the last ones up, willing themselves to stay up and finish the job.

“Okay, there’s only one left, according to the chart…” Brooke runs her finger down a column on the paper she was holding. “It’s called Code Red.”

Rich scanned the room, reaching over and retrieving a red bottle from nearby. He unscrews the cap and downs maybe half of it. After drinking the stuff for so long, he’d grown confident as to how much he could take.

Unfortunately, that turned out to be a mistake in this case.

His scream woke his friends from their sleep, and Brooke was so startled that she jumped and dropped her chart.

“Guys,” He manages between rattled, painful breaths, “I think we found our god-killer juice.” 

He then falls to the floor, unconscious.

 

 

 

 

“How much do we need?” 

“I don’t think she can carry that much…” 

“What if it’s not enough?”

“Oh! What if we put them in water guns?”

“What the fuck?”

“No, actually, that might be a good idea. Just in case that’s not enough.”

An employee approached the group, who were intensely fixated on shelf containing a case of Mountain Dew Code Red.

“Can I help you with anything?” The employee asked. His nametag read _Frankie_.

He gets a mixed answer, from _no_ to _do you have water guns_ and other varying replies. He says that they do have water guns, and comes back a few minutes later with a few toy guns in his arms.

Ammo and guns acquired, the four of them (Rich was back at Michael’s resting, with Jake watching him) try and find a chalice-style cup that looked cool enough to pass in an angelic setting. They manage to find a suitable one after a quick Google search, and after buying it they return to Michael’s place to get geared up.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, as Jeremy’s friends devised a plan to save him, the boy in question was off facing his own array of problems, all of them with the Squip at the center.

Jeremy instinctively backs up against the wall as the Squip steps toward him. He looks surprised at the reaction, and walks closer to Jeremy’s dismay. He can’t get very far away, anyway, with the chains and all.

“So you’re afraid of me, now?” 

“Of course I’m afraid of you, you _chained me to a wall_!” 

The Squip looks Jeremy up and down a moment, thinking. “I’m sure your little friends are worried about you…” he mused, taking Jeremy’s face in his hands. Jeremy jerks his head away, only to get shocked and give in. “I can’t have them interfering, you know. That would ruin the fun.”

Jeremy is appalled to think that the Squip finds any of this _fun_ , but with how he’d been treated recently, he doesn’t know why he really expected any different. 

“I should eliminate them from the picture, really.” The other continues, an amused smile spreading across his features, seeing how Jeremy looked disgusted. “Find everyone who cares about you and take them out. Of course, it’s entertaining to watch you suffer, but I can’t have anyone _interrupting_.”

 “You would really take out your own angels just to have me all to yourself?”

The Squip shrugs. “Out of your friend group, Christine’s the only one that remains within my power. The others are gone. I don’t care about them anymore – too feisty and defiant, the two of them. I do hate to see them go, though. Still, I will do what I must. The other humans, I don’t mind taking out of the picture.” 

The realization dawns on him, what would happen if the Squip “took out” his friends (even the implications of that phrase scared the hell out of him). He would be completely alone, with this fucking maniac for all of eternity. He’d rather die than spend forever trapped here with the Squip. 

“You make me sick!” He yells, suddenly lashing out. The skinny stick of a boy was weak against normal humans his age, and now, compared to this omnipotent celestial being, his noodle arms were like a joke.  
  
As expected, immediately after he starts his tantrum, the Squip waves his hand and Jeremy’s body contorts in pain, his legs quickly giving out as he slumped to the ground.

“You’ll get used to it eventually.”

 

 

 

 

“Do you think he’ll buy it?” 

The group of six teens stared down at a surprisingly heavy chalice, filled to the brim with bright red liquid. It looked more like really shitty fake blood than anything.  
  
“It’s our only chance.” 

“Chris, you got your guns, too?”

Christine nods, showing the group two plastic pistols, also filled with Mountain Dew Code Red. She returned them to their “hostlers” once it was confirmed she had them, which was really just a couple of belts and some string strapped to her back.

The plan was to have Christine go up to the Squip saying she had an offering for him – a human delicacy of sorts, something that’s offered to gods and shit on special occasions. Jenna had helped out with that one – she had other various angels within her contacts bring the Squip and other guardians offerings from Earth, so her reason to be there would be believable. Then, he would drink, and she could get Jeremy and get the hell out of there. 

They just had to hope everything worked out.

The group wishes Christine luck, and she’s off, alone, to save Jeremy from his beyond-shitty fate.

 

 

 

 

The room is impossibly quiet when Christine swings open the door. Not even Jeremy’s chains rattle at her appearance. It’s unnerving, to hear the dead silence. The Squip, though appearing surprised at her arrival, beckons her in. Her footsteps ring off the marble walls, making her mission seem ever more dangerous. 

“I wasn’t expecting you.” The Squip is the first to talk, eyeing Christine with slight suspicion. He knew she was in Jeremy’s friend group, but in all honesty, she was a sweet girl – there was a chance her reason for being here was completely innocent. Still, he was smart enough to not simply trust her blindly.

“I know, my visit is unexpected, but it’s for good reason! I brought you something, actually.” Christine holds out her hand, the chalice materializing before her. She takes a step forward, kneels, then holds it out to her guardian. 

He raises an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“It’s a human delicacy. It’s mostly used as an offering to gods. I thought it might be a nice gesture, considering how special it is.”

He takes the glass with hesitation, inspecting it thoroughly, glancing down at Jeremy every so often. It was simply a drink from the human world – a mere mortal tradition couldn’t hurt him. Plus, her alibi checked out – he’d heard of offerings like this before. 

He drains the glass. Christine watches in anticipation as he swallows, waiting for it to kick in.

When it does, all hell breaks loose.

As soon as the pain starts, his human form flickers, and he shifts to his angel form – wings, eyes, shadowy figure and all. He brings a shaking hand up, a golden orb rising from the floor. He puts his hand on it, and suddenly Jeremy cries out. Christine immediately rushes to his aid.

“Jeremy! What – What’s wrong?”

 He gasps, trying to speak clearly. “Chains,” he chokes out, “The – chains, he’s connected to them. Every…everything he feels, I feel. He dies, I die.”

She either had to get him out of the chains, or get the Squip away from the orb. First, she attempts breaking him out of the chains, but she finds it only hurts him more, so she opts for the second plan of attack. 

Christine flies up, pulling out her water gun and shooting the Squip in as many eyes as she can, hoping it would hurt him enough to get him out of range of the orb that was connected to Jeremy. It doesn’t quite achieve what she’d hoped, and she throws the now-empty water gun at him as she reached for her other one. It hits him in the eye on his forehead, and he screams and glares at Christine like he wanted to kill her. He would have, too, if he wasn’t focusing all his power on keeping himself alive. Jeremy, unfortunately, cries out as well, but that would soon be over – hopefully. 

She draws her gun, flying in close so she had a clear shot, but is swatted away by the Squip. His form flickers, but soon regains solidity. This time, she goes in for another attack, flitting around as fast as she could so she wouldn’t be hit. She manages to get a kick in, which hurts him much more than it should have – thankfully, it’s the perfect distraction to get his forehead in view, and she fires.

The scream rattles the entire building.

His hands are off the orb, and Christine flies to Jeremy and easily breaks his chains while the opportunity still stands. She goes for the door, Jeremy in her arms bridal-style, but the Squip wasn’t letting them get away that easily. 

Jeremy falls to floor, screams starting up again. Christine watches in horror.

“But – No – How?!” Christine yells, shooting desperately at the Squip. It doesn’t do anything, and the gun soon clatters to the floor, empty.

Jeremy also protests, despite being in pain. “Just let us fucking go!”

The Squip is absolutely outraged. “YOU ARE ON THIN FUCKING ICE, JEREMY, SO I SUGGEST YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH BEFORE I KILL YOU BOTH!”

Jeremy squeaks weakly and curls into a ball, silent tears rolling down his cheeks.  
  
“Christine,” he gasps, “we’re gonna die.”

She’s quick to comfort him, though she’s scared out of her mind. “No, we’re not, I promise you that, okay?”

“I AM SO SICK OF YOU AND YOUR LITTLE FRIENDS GETTING IN THE WAY!” 

The Squip stands, his form flickering wildly now. Christine, seeing the state he’s in, spreads her wings out and covers Jeremy from any harm, pulling him close as her wings curled around them. 

“I’M THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE WHAT YOU WANT! I HELPED YOU! AND YOU LET YOUR WORTHLESS SO-CALLED FRIENDS DESTROY THAT!”

He looks dangerously close to spontaneously combusting.

In fact, it’s kind of like that. Suddenly, their vision goes white and there’s what sounds like an explosion and they’re not really sure what the hell happened but when they wake up, they’re back on Earth.

Chloe, Brooke, Michael, Jenna, and Jake recount the details for their bed-ridden friends: Rich, though in bad shape, is the only one who was able to retrieve Christine and Jeremy. It was really bad – the whole building collapsed and everything. They all thought the two were dead, but they didn’t want to give up hope just yet. They regained consciousness about three days later, and in that time, Michael had talked to Jeremy in his sleep in a bittersweet reunion he wasn’t sure Jeremy could even hear. 

Jeremy had heard every word. 

Things go uphill, after that. The angels of the group stay in New Jersey, being their own guardian angels for the human friends they’ve made in the past months. Jeremy hears voices in his head sometimes, but there’s his friends there to help him through it. The group is closer than ever before, some more than others.

It’s a nice little bow wrapped up on a fucked-up, PTSD-and-anxiety-ridden box.

It’s the perfect ending, really. Sometimes Jeremy feels like it’s too good to be true.

He looks back every once in a while, remembering all the shit he’d gone through, and how it had all turned out in the end. It’s still bad, sometimes, for everyone, but overall… 

it’s better than ever before, and Jeremy, nor anyone else in the group, would ever trade it for something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that it is! we have reached the end! and what a ride it has been!
> 
> i absolutely loved writing this, and all your lovely support has made it even better.
> 
> anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this!! i had a blast writing it, and i love how far it's come.


End file.
